OPENING OF BIDS FOR PROJECT HAS TENSE MOMENTS

Rebecca Boyden had some uneasy moments as the bids for the restoration of Old Town Hall were opened Thursday.

The project, estimated to cost $185,000 and the focus of a diligent fund-raising campaign by Arts of Tolland, attracted three bids.

The bid in the first envelope, from a Manchester company, was $340,000. The tension eased as the two other bids -- $195,071 and $258,630 -- were opened at town hall.

"It was pretty frightening there for a few seconds," Boyden, project director for Arts of Tolland, said.

Joseph C. Migani, architect for the project, is reviewing the bids and will make a recommendation Thursday to the restoration committee on which contractor to hire. The committee also will review the bids and forward a recommendation to the town council.

The contract almost always goes to the lowest qualified bidder. The low bid came from Heritage Building and Design, of Pomfret Center.

"We're pretty happy with the low bidder," Stephen Courtney, a member of the committee who works as an architect, said. "He has a good reputation."

Although the low bid is about $10,000 more than the estimated budget, Arts of Tolland may decide to raise more money or trim about $15,000 in items that were listed in the proposal as optional.

The group has raised about $50,000, including a $25,000 grant from the Connecticut Historical Commission, and the town has agreed to spend $110,000 on the project. The restoration will convert the 117-year-old building into an arts and community center.

Boyden said she hoped the project could begin by the end of the year. Although the group will not have all the money in hand by that time, she said it had proven its fund- raising ability.

Some of the optional work, such as painting and completing a second bathroom, could potentially be done by volunteers, she said.